GASO Bryan/College Station: Saturday Afternoon Standouts

Check out my scouting reports and analysis on some of the top prospects in attendance at the GASO (Great American Shoot Out) in Bryan/ College Station, Texas! These guys really popped on the first full day of competition, expect them to begin to garner some real attention! Myles Dealy 2024 6’1 Tomball Memorial High School (Hardwork Basketball Academy) Myles is a high level scorer off the bounce who affect the game from all three levels of the floor with his ability to penetrate and create opportunities for his teammates. He is an impressive scorer off the bounce and is deadly accurate when given time to set his feet and catch and shoot. He is a confident scorer and playmaker with his ability to get past his on ball defender and keep them on his hip and force the second defender to make a decision. I was very impressed with his natural point guard instincts and his ability to get into the teeth of the defense and fire creative passes out to his teammates. He made the right reads and found his teammates wide open on the back side of the defense after he drew a second defender. Keandre Jones 2023 6’5 Port Arthur Memorial High School (Texas Future Basketball) Keandre is a high level wing who showed an ability to routinely beat his opponent off the bounce and get into the paint. He is a three level threat to score with his ability to catch and shoot and score from the wings and corners with consistency. He is a confident player out of the triple threat and also displayed an ability to back down smaller defenders who get switched onto him. He can screen an on ball defender and slip to the basket for easy looks at the rim. His best skill might be his ability to defend positions 1-4 with ease. He has incredibly active feet that allow him to stay in front of his opponent or chase them down from behind on the break and send their shot off the back board. He anchors his team on the defensive end, and his switch-ability allows him to take on the best matchup. He has very explosive legs that allow him to contest any shot in the paint but also finish with ease. I was not surprised to hear he was the Texas 5A State Champion in the high jump as well! Kaden Judie 2023 6’4 Alpha Omega Academy (RL9 Honor Armor Lions) Kaden is a high level wing with the ability to play the small ball forward role with his consistency in the paint on both ends of the floor. He showed an ability to routinely finish out of the pick and roll and on the fast break. He had a play where he caught a tight bounce pass and threw down a monstrous dunk that got everyone in the gym excited (Check it out below, thanks to TexasHoops TV and GASO for the highlight)! His athleticism was on full display, but not only to finish dunks. He made timely leaps to reject shots at the rim and snatch rebounds. I was very impressed with his ability to do all of the little things on the defensive end, anchoring his team’s defense and snatching rebounds. He is a confident defender on the perimeter with his ability to move his feet but also use his active hands to poke the ball free. He made blocks and steals just as his opponent was about to make a move, perfectly timing up his hands. He made great decisions when he had the ball in his hands in the open court and showed an ability to go coast to coast and finish on the fast break. He moved without the ball and dove to the basket and sealed off his opponents for easy looks down low. https://twitter.com/texashoopstv/status/1533187818947846146?s=21&t=59o0l8aUv-GIEjXVfG8xhQ [player_tooltip player_id="787364" first="Josh" last="Ugbaja"] 2023 6’5 Klein Forest High School (Houston Superstars) Josh is an athletic wing prospect who can play small ball four if necessary through his ability to defend and finish in the paint. He showed an ability to finish emphatic tip dunks and lived on the offensive glass and underneath the rim through is constant motion down low, and his willingness to seal off his opponent under the rim. He constantly moved without the ball and attempted to affect the game from all three levels of the floor. He showed an ability to handle the ball and get into the paint with a lived dribble with great consistency and attacked hard closeouts very well. On the defensive end is where he made his mark, constantly rejecting shots and anchoring his team’s defense. He moved his feet well and showed an ability to defend guards on the perimeter as well. Cooper Heaton 2023 6’0 Round Rock High School (TWE 2023) Cooper is a complete three level scorer at the combo guard position who lives at the free throw line due to his aggressiveness and his skill attacking the rim. There were plenty of instances where he adjusted the ball in the air to draw contact and put the other team in foul trouble. Heaton was his team’s leading scorer in most games this weekend due to his ability to score off the bounce in the midrange and beyond the arc. Once the defense sat back to cut off his driving angles he calmly shot over the top of them. He drew plenty of attention on the offensive end and was good at stepping through a second defender closing out and making the right read to set up a teammate for an easy look. TWE really is a strong team with their unselfishness and ability to pass the ball to find the best shot possible, and because their leading scorer is so unselfish it makes everyone easy to fit right in. I would like to see him continue to work on operating out of the triple threat and creating space out of the triple threat with jab moves and hesitations.